The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Determining an optimized schedule for applying fertilizer to an agricultural field is very important to crop growers and agricultural industry. The timing and manner in which fertilizer is applied to the soil directly affects the end-of-season yield and profitability. The decisions with regard to fertilizer applications may include determining the timing and frequency of the fertilizer applications, the type of fertilizer, and the amount of fertilizer to be applied to the soil in each application.
These decisions are usually made by taking into account several factors including observed and predicted weather conditions, previous yields, a geographic location of the field, a cost of fertilizer, and available equipment. However, even taking into account all these factors may be insufficient to generate optimized schedules for the field fertilizing practices.